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Newark Liaison News

At the October Grantmakers for Education Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., the Newark Funders Education Committee presented a workshop called “How Not to Read the Prize” to a standing-room-only audience of national, regional, and local foundations.

We are pleased to share Strengthening Philanthropy in Newark Report to the Field 2015 from the Office of the Newark Philanthropic Liaison. This report highlights a number of public-private partnerships guided by Liaison Jeremy Johnson.

When Ras J. Baraka won the mayoral election for New Jersey’s largest city last year, expectations were high. In the days leading up to, and following the election, the Council recognized an opportunity to work intensively with the incoming mayor. CNJG had previously established a nonpartisan, City Hall-based Newark Philanthropic Liaison office, in collaboration with then Mayor Cory Booker in 2007. Following the transition, Mayor Baraka and CNJG built exciting new bridges.

We are pleased to share Strengthening Philanthropy in Newark Report to the Field 2013 – 2014 from the Office of the Newark Philanthropic Liaison. This report highlights a number of public-private partnerships guided by Liaison Jeremy Johnson.

Newark’s 40th Mayor Ras J. Baraka (pictured, second from right) invited the Newark Funders Group to hear his vision for the city at special August meeting. Just 30 days into his term, the Mayor called on the Newark Philanthropic Liaison Jeremy Johnson (far left) to organize a convening with the Newark group, co-chaired by Etta Denk of Bank America (second from left) and Barbara Reisman of the Schumann Fund for New Jersey (third from left). Irene Cooper-Basch (far right), Chair of the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers and Executive Officer at the Victoria Foundation, introduced the Mayor to more than 50 grantmakers who attended the session at the PSEG headquarters in downtown Newark.

The Lumina Foundation has announced a second cohort of communities - including Newark, NJ - to participate in an initiative to increase the number of local residents who hold postsecondary credentials.

In the December issue of Governing magazine, a national trade publication, a featured article “But what did Cory Booker actually accomplish in Newark?” cites the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers and Jeremy Johnson, the Newark Philanthropic Liaison, in connection with the public-private partnership to establish the Newark Office of Reentry.

On a recent Saturday, the Jeremy Johnson, the Newark Philanthropic Liaison and over 150 arts lovers, historians, and community leaders gathered to reflect on the past, acknowledge the present, and imagine the future of the historic Newark Symphony Hall. The liaison shares his observations from the conference.

Through the office of the Newark Philanthropic Liaison, CNJG recently had the opportunity to convene a group of funders with the Brick City Development Corporation (BCDC), a nonprofit that is working with the City of Newark to improve access to fresh, affordable foods for Newark residents.

Private donors including three CNJG members contributed $2 million in matching funds to a $5 million grant to support Newark residents returning to their homes and communities from prison over the next two years.

In 2001, the Schumann Fund for New Jersey and 10 private and corporate foundations agreed to collaborate on the multi-year Newark Lighthouse Initiative. The Initiative, led by two state nonprofit partners, the Association for Children of New Jersey and New Jersey Community Capital, had program and policy goals: to help three Newark-based early childhood programs move from good to exemplary, and to identify policy changes that would be necessary to enable other early-childhood programs to engage in similar efforts.

A $19 million landmark award that will strengthen Newark public charter schools, comprises grants from seven funders including four national family foundations -- the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Doris & Donald Fisher Fund, Robertson Foundation, and The Walton Foundation -- and three New Jersey funders -- the MCJ and Amelior Foundations, Prudential Foundation, and Victoria Foundation.